United?
by Negai Liu
Summary: After the events of Earthbound, the world is now threatened by a new evil. Ness and co. must once again defend the Earth, along with a boy who no one knows is actually an ancient hero...
1. Prologue: The Disturbance

Negai here. My first fanfic went pretty bad so I hope this one is better.

There will never be any sexual romance in this story and if you have any questions please feel free to ask in the reviews. :D

Okay, this may be confusing, and if people think it's too confusing, then I'll explain in the next chapter. Many thanks to CuteLittlePikachu and RandomDancingMatryoshka for their tips & help. Now enjoy!

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><p>This was just... strange. The very definition of: strange. At first, he assumed it was nothing but a weird dream; a dream he would wake from and proceed with a regular routine that followed every day. But even as he pinched himself, the surroundings showed no signs of flickering or fading. "Whatever this is," he thought, only the slightest bit worried, "definitely isn't a dream."<p>

Whirling masses of colour and shades swirled around him like an outer coating, confusing and teasing the jet-haired boy. He was helpless in the midst of the vortex, drifting aimlessly with no help of levitation.

In truth, he would just have used his ability to teleport out of the whirling funnel, but there was something preventing him from doing so. It was like as if someone had disabled his PSI before he was tossed in here. But how could that be possible? He had no memory of anyone doing anything like that to him.

Closing his eyes, he tried to retrace the events that led him to this bizarre 'place', but he felt odd. Only images appeared; no sound, no colour, but just... images; black and white, devoid of any sense. "Whuh... What is this...?" he thought, getting worried, "I... I can't remember... who... who am... no I'm... I'm..."

Suddenly, his memories started to dissipate; one moment he remembered his name, the next... the name became fuzzy and forgotten. His memories were somehow slowly being depleted one by one, until he was left with only a single knowledge: the ability to use PSI.

Startled and confused, he looked frantically around for the cause, but all he could see were the colours flying around him. An idea sprung into his mind. Closing his eyes, he tried to focus his PSI to try and detect any presence.

...Nothing was in here... but then he remembered that his PSI didn't work for some odd reason.

Suddenly, the colours and swirls focused at a single point, forming a white gateway. It drew all the colours towards it, but as they hit the white, they seemed to merge into nothingness. As it sucked in the colours, it pulled the disoriented boy towards its gaping mouth. Thoroughly surprised, he tried to run, but with no surface to run on, all he could do was try and edge away, and with no PSI, he found himself out of solutions.

All he could do was watch as the white drew closer and closer, until at last, it filled his sight and rendered him unconscious.

XXXXX

(Onett)

Ness tossed around in bed, something disturbing him from his sleep. Opening his gentle blue eyes, he yawned and got up.

(Twoson)

Paula suddenly felt ill and weak. Sitting down gently, she tried to identify why she felt this way.

(Snowman)

Working on a new invention, Jeff paid no attention to what happened outside. Had he done so, he would've seen a small dot in the sky fall from a whirling mass of energy.

(Dalaam)

Poo grimaced all of sudden in between his training, attracting the Old Master's attention. Slightly concerned, he murmured, "Something... has disturbed this world."

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><p>Yeah it's pretty short. The proper Chapter 1 will come soon.<p>

Please review! Even if you're just saying a word or giving criticism, a review is a review! :D

Even if I get no reviews for now, I'm going to update the next chapter anyways, but after that if there's no reviews, then I won't continue.


	2. Chapter 1

Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I'm really happy about the number of reviews I got. :D

Yeah I know I've been a very bad author and left you guys hanging for a long time, but it was near the end of the term and there were so much tests and assignments to hand in that it was almost impossible to work on it, but I'll try to make up for the wait.

Now then-

Jeff: Negai, you forgot something.

Me: Huh? Oh no… what did I miss…?

Jeff: Disclaimer.

Oh right! Crap…. I forgot….

Disclaimer: I do not own the awesome series of Earthbound.

_Italics are thoughts… _

And thanks to CuteLittlePikachu , RandomDancingMatryoshka and Kyandanko for their tips and help.

Now enjoy! :D

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><p>Someone's POV<p>

For a moment, I thought I was dead. I could see nothing; I could feel nothing, as if I was floating in eternal darkness. But, as I regained control over my body, I slowly opened my eyes, now aware of a powerful fatigue that coated me.

Blurry images of brown appeared in my sight, which I assumed was dirt of some sort. Then, green entered, signaling nature. "Leaves…" I instantly thought.

As my sight came to me, I tried to remember why I felt so tired. That… that white light… those colours…

… But why…? Why can't I remember anything before that? _Focus... what happened…?_

…Nothing; absolutely nothing comes to my mind.

I gave a low groan as I tried to lift myself up, but my arms felt like jelly and I immediately collapsed back onto the ground. My mind was constantly urging me to get up and take in my surroundings, but my body was simply too weak.

Hang on! What about my PSI? I couldn't use it inside that… place, but maybe… well it wouldn't hurt to try would it?

Focusing slightly, I murmured, "Lifeup γ."

The familiar green light washed over my body and I felt the fatigue disappear into oblivion. With my strength returned, I lifted myself up and looked around at the trees that loomed over me.

It was a forest; that I knew for sure. The trees, this grass and dirt, and that fresh smell of nature gave it away.

…But where am I? How did I get here? And… who am I?

With no other choice, I made my way towards to the exit of the forest, completely unsure of what to do or what to expect…

XXXXXXXXXX

It turned out that the forest lead to a bustling and big city which I saw was named Fourside. The trees were replaced by giant buildings which almost completely covered all the sunlight. Everywhere you looked you could at least see someone walking, sitting, feeding the pigeons or even just minding their own business. And… man… I'm finding it slightly harder to breathe.

I only took about 10 steps into the city when suddenly I heard-

"Omigosh! It's Ness! The legendary hero! Eeeeeeeeeeeee!"

"Nooooo, way! THE Ness? The brave one from Onett!"

"Whoa holy crap! Hey guys, it's Ness! You know, the one who kicked alien ass and saved the world? Yep, that one!"

"Ness!"

"It's the hero!"

Suddenly, flashes snapped and clicked as many adults came running towards me.

"Hello, I'm Claire from 'Daily News' and is it possible if we could have an interview with you Ness?"

"Whuh?"

"Great! Okay so first of all, did you ever think you would be destined to save the world? And if yes, explain please."

"Uhh… I'm not Ness," I tried to explain, but the lady butted in.

"Oh stop trying to hide yourself! Anyone can recognize that signature blue & yellow striped shirt and that red cap anywhere!" she sighed dreamily (which I backed away from). "Tell us, do you have a girlfriend in mind?"

"Hey! I'm not Ness! And I'm not some hero!" I protest, but the lady butts in again.

"Ah… always so modest Ness; now please answer-"

"IS ANYONE IN THIS GOD DAMN PLACE LISTENING TO ME! I'M NOT NESS!"

"Well if you aren't Ness," the woman responded finally, "then who are you?"

"I…" I stammer, completely caught off guard, "I… I-I'm-"

"No use hiding it," she giggles _(vilely)_, "now then, on with the interview…"

_What the hell is wrong with these people?_

_XXXXXXXX  
><em>

"Well, thanks for being on time Paula…" Ness managed to say through clenched teeth.

"I-It's okay…" she answered back nervously, knowing that Ness wasn't having his best day today and that Jeff and Poo being late was fueling his impatience and grouchiness every second. "I'm pretty sure Jeff is just stuck in the traffic or something…"

She had planned to calm him down slightly, but it backfired as Paula remembered that Jeff was taking the Sky Runner here, not a taxi.

After the sudden disturbance (or, as dubbed by Ness, 'rude wakeup') Ness, feeling that it didn't just affect him, called Paula and the others to see if they had felt it too. It had turned out that Paula and Poo were affected as well; with Jeff noting that it seemed only those with PSI had been affected.

Ness arranged for a meeting at Fourside Hotel so that they could discuss about the sudden disruption (well actually because Ness had nothing else to do and wanted to meet up with his friends again). Although everyone agreed, Jeff didn't sound too keen about missing a day at school.

Back to the present, Ness looked at the white circular clock hanging lonely on the wall. _Seriously... they're 3 hours late! They BETTER have a good excuse…_

Tapping his finger impatiently, Ness plunked down on one of the chairs, grumbling; Paula followed suit, save the grumbling and plunking factor.

…..Silence.

"Erm…" Paula began, "…do you want to try 'I Spy'?"

"We're psychic, Paula; we can read each others' minds."

"Maybe go to the store and get a pizza while we wait?"

"…..Yeah okay," Ness sighed, finally calming down, "But I'll go get something else for Poo; I'm pretty sure he won't be able to eat Pizza."

"Yeah you're right about that. So while I go order pizza for the 3 of us, you're going to go buy something else for Poo?"

"Yeah, and when you're done, just come back to the hotel and HOPEFULLY Jeff and Poo will be here by then."

"Alright. See you later."

With that, Ness and Paula exited the hotel and both left in their respective directions: Paula towards Mach Pizza, and Ness towards the department store.

XXXXXXXXXX

Multi-coloured objects of all shapes and sizes passed by him, as he walked through the department store, looking for something edible that wasn't western. The mouth-watering scent of hamburgers wafting around him caught him however, and he felt his stomach yearn for it. _Well… a quick snack wouldn't hurt will it?_

Giving in to the lure, he made his way through the sea of people towards the counter and ordered two hamburgers, a large drink, two beef jerkys and two bread rolls. Sitting down comfortably in his seat, he hungrily devoured all the food in front of him, not paying attention a crowd of people advancing towards him with their backs turned.

It wasn't until two girls bumped into Ness' table that he actually looked up.

"Oh I'm sorry," the first girl squealed, "I didn't see-"

"…..Heeeeeeeeeeyyy," the second suddenly remarked, looking at Ness carefully from top to bottom. "Aren't you… Ness?"

The two girls suddenly froze in shock, incredulous of what they saw. Ness raised his eyebrow in confusion, mouth still stuffed with hamburgers.

"Umm…. Yes, but why do you ask?"

"B-But…" the first one stammered, pointing into the midst of the crowd and back at Ness again and again, "y-you were in there...!"

"What?" Ness responded, swallowing the hamburgers. "Why would I be in there?"

"You just came outta the forest into Fourside didn't you?"

"No I came into Fourside more than 3 hours ago, with my friend."

The two girls gasped in realization, opening their mouths wide. Without a word, they simultaneously dived into the crowd and started shouting, "Everyone! That 'Ness' is an impostor! Look over at the table!"

Instantly Ness could feel dozens of eyes look his way. They all shared the same expression: confusion. But Ness wasn't paying attention to them; no, he wasn't focused at them at all.

His stare was entirely locked on the identical looking boy who, too, was staring at him with his warm brown eyes.

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><p>This is a poor improvement to the previous one… only a thousand words (well around that). :(<p>

Third chapter will come sooner than this one since it's holidays and I can finally sleep in!

Anyways, read and review!


	3. Chapter 2: Battle in the Dept Store

Yes, I guess it was obvious who the 'identical boy' was. =)

I have a request to make: can you guys please take my poll? I really need some help in deciding a matter that a reviewer brought up. Thanks a bunch! :D

For LucasIsAwesome, I haven't said anything about Lucas yet, but I can say for certain whether he'll be in the story or not by chapter 5.

**Thanks to:** everyone who reviewed, Kyandanko for the editing and whoever you are for reading my fic! ^_^

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Earthbound I'd translate it and send it overseas.

Now… enjoy! :D

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><p>For a moment, Ness thought he was dreaming, but countless encounters with the weirdest of the weird in his previous journey told him otherwise. The boy was identical in almost every way, save the cap facing the other way, blue shoes instead of red and the eye colour.<p>

He definitely wasn't going mad, and he definitely wasn't dreaming either. But then, the sight before him was clearly almost impossible.

He rubbed his eyes again, but the boy stayed, with the same look on his face.

Ness continued staring at him until finally he was able to talk.

"…Are you like some hardcore fan or something?" Ness asked. "Cause this is really going overboard."

"No! I don't even know who the heck you are!" the other boy replied with a hint of frustration, but then looked at the people around him. "Well… from these crazy people I can assume you're some guy named Ness or something…"

"Yeah I'm Ness alright," Ness clarified, "but why are you dressed like me? Are you trying to impersonate me?"

"I just told you that I don't even know who you are so how could I impersonate you?"

"Then why are you dressed like me?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Hey, ditto with your argument for that quote," Ness retorted, getting slightly provoked. "And how do I know you're not maybe a… Starman?"

That word struck a chord in the brown-eyed boy's mind. Wincing suddenly, he clutched his head in confusion at the black and white images that flashed through his head; images of a young blonde-haired girl and a grey-haired boy fighting some sort of cyborg-like spaceman. It was the same as before; no sound, no colour… and no sense at all.

Ness was stuck between the decision of helping him or being cautious and standing there. His young heart genuinely wanted to help the boy, but there was the possibility of him being a Starman that could not be evaded.

Both were so immersed in their respective thoughts that they failed to notice a certain girl approach from behind.

"Hey Ness," a feminine voice began, "have you bought something for Poo yet?"

Knocked out of the pain and confusion, the other boy turned around to look at Paula. She in turn raised a brow.

"Wow Ness, you changed your look," she noted, doing the same thing as the fangirl from before. "You flipped your cap around and-"

"Paula I'm here! That's not me!"

"Whuh?"

Paula looked behind the boy to see a waving Ness. Eyes widening, she looked back and fro at Ness and the boy, mouth wide as a cave.

Without warning, Paula suddenly thrust her arms out and shouted, "PK Fire Ω!"

A blazing wave of fire bashed into the mysterious boy and sent him flying into the wall, sending chairs and tables into the air. Ness looked at Paula with a shocked face.

"P-Paula what are you-"

"He's the Starman!" she replied almost instantly, running towards Ness. "I already ordered the pizza and they arrived around the time Jeff did. But then you weren't there so I went to get you. That's when Jeff told me that there was a Starman in Fourside and warned me to be careful."

"Jeff's already here!"

"Yeah, because you took your merry time eating hamburgers instead of finding something for Poo!"

Ness was about to retort that statement, but decided he would later on as the boy stood up from the impact, barely damaged.

"You better have a good explanation for that!" he glared as he took a defensive stance.

"We're not explaining anything to a Starman!" Paula retorted.

"So that's why you looked so much like me," Ness murmured, glaring at him. "You were really the Starman in Fourside!"

"I'm not a Starman!" he shouted back, frustrated about the accusations. "I'm just someone who just happens to look like you!"

"Yeah, fat chance. PK Rockin' β!"

Colorful waves of chaotic PSI rocketed towards its target at a quick speed, but he leapt out of its way when it almost hit.

"That's it," he growled, sparking PSI in his right hand and dropping his defensive stance; "no more Mr. Nice Guy."

Simultaneously, energy coated his left hand as he ran towards his 'twin'; Ness followed suit, save the PSI.

"I know for one thing Starmen aren't very good at hand-to-hand combat."

"Well tough luck, 'cause I'm not a Starman."

Ness threw a quick punch but the boy somehow caught it and hurled Ness into the air. Following him, he threw an uppercut towards Ness' chin. Not having sufficient time to dodge it, Ness countered it with his own thrust, although it proved to be unwise as the excess energy imbued to the fist zapped Ness' hand before he made contact, making him recoil from the shock.

He didn't stop there however; after the uppercut, he slammed Ness down with a PSI kick on the stomach and further increased the impact with telekinesis, but Ness quickly cancelled the force by using levitation.

As the boy rapidly came down from above, right hand accommodating an energy ball, Ness, thinking quickly, let loose a PK Flash which was then combo'ed with Paula's PK Fire. Falling too fast to pull any dodges, the boy felt the powerful heat slam into his body and send him flying backwards a good few meters.

Recovering from the attack quickly, he stood up in time just to see Ness bringing down his bat down. He too, brought out his bat and both items clashed and strained against each other, but Ness knew that this kid could more than just overpower him in a strength match.

Both bats cancelled each other out and Ness launched quick consecutive attempts to land a hit on the boy, but although Ness proved to be the quicker one, his attacks were being easily resisted by the other kid, who wasn't even straining.

It was then that Paula decided to interfere. Locking her eyes on the eye-darting battle, she charged up a PK Freeze Ω and waited until she saw an opening to attack. With the battle being too intense however, whenever the other boy had his back turned Ness would replace his position soon after. And then there was the possibility of hitting the incorrect person. Furrowing her brow in concentration, she tried thinking of another solution… and it wasn't long before she did.

"Ness, up!" she shouted, earning both their attentions.

Being the one who understood Paula, Ness leapt up into the air, leaving the oblivious boy confused.

Mere seconds away from Ness' leap, Paula shot the PK Freeze alpha faster than she ever did before.

This time the boy was the one who was outmatched in speed. Having not enough time to dodge or conjure up a shield, he quickly boosted his defense using Defense Up β.

He felt the icy cold wind knock him back, but was literally in for a shock as he felt twin bolts of thunder shock him thoroughly straight after; it turned out Paula had fired PK Thunder β right after the freeze. Winded, he stood gasping for breath as if he had just come out of water… failing to notice Ness throw down a fully charged PK Rockin' σ.

As the PSI attack came down, Ness landed safely near Paula with the help of his PSI. The usual burst and 'bangs' of the PSI attack flashed and homed onto its target easily, until finally it concluded.

Both stood panting slightly for awhile, being completely (well Ness mainly) unprepared for the battle. Dust covered the area where the PK Rockin' σ hit, entirely obscuring any view of the other boy, but it was likely that he had been knocked out.

"We're rusty," Ness began, chuckling a little, "but we're still pretty good."

"Yeah… I-I guess…" Paula began, but she was immediately interrupted by a low voice.

"You're in for it now…!"

Suddenly, the dust dissipated and the strange boy stood there, harmed but not to the point where he was staggering. Ness and Paula quickly formed their battle stances again, because this time the guy looked REALLY mad.

Not speaking a word, he slightly moved his arms away from his body, while at the same time white energy began to gather and intensify near his hands. Then, he focused all his psionic energy towards it, fueling and powering it immensely. The usual warm brown colour in his eyes faded into an intense light blue as he lifted his arms up and brought them down onto the ground. What followed could only be described as a devastating PSI-explosion that threw everything, including earth, into the air and sent all nearby objects, that weren't flung into the air, either flying away or into oblivion.

Ness and Paula were both caught right in the middle of its path, as the explosion expanded so rapidly that dodging it was near impossible, let alone having enough time to shield. The raw PSI brought heavy loads of agonizing pain to the two that were caught. It was almost like being hit by a hundred PK Starstorms, except it was one big hit and not dozens of hits.

Windows broke and shattered; tables and chairs either disintegrated or were thrown far away. All sorts of items from the variety shop were scattered and destroyed, and the food coloured the rubble with sauces and its shreds. The ground trembled and sent nearby people into chaos as they scrambled away in fear. It only ever stopped when the explosion disappeared, leaving its dreaded mark.

By the time the dust cleared, you couldn't even tell it was originally a department store; it merely looked like a giant mansion that got hit really bad in war… well you could say that a 'war' occurred.

In the midst of the wreck, the duo lay injured; weak and staggering, but otherwise… alive.

Ness gave a groan as he strained to get up. A few cuts were present on his arm and one on his face, but they masked the exhaustion he faced as he stood up. Glancing over at Paula, he saw that she was completely unconscious. Abandoning the decision to wake her up for now, he gazed over at the boy who had executed the attack.

It turned out he and Paula weren't the only ones who were exhausted; it looked like the attack took its toll on its original user as well as he showed the same symptoms like Ness, albeit more injured due to the pre-battle.

The blue had faded into a worn brown. The energy that was used was constantly sparking near his arms, but the odd thing was that it seemed to be the _cause _of his exhaustion. Although his body was tattered and he was panting heavily, he attempted to charge up his PSI, which resulted in small recoil and a collapse to the knees.

After the failed attempt, he and Ness locked gazes; not the kinda gaze you'd see from two mad lovers though, but one you'd expect from your arch-nemesis that had the 'you move one inch and I'll slice your neck off' message. Both stood unmoving for awhile, each expecting the other to attack.

But Ness, tired beyond relief, collapsed before anyone had even made a move.

Glaring at Ness, he growled, "That's what happens… when you get on my bad side…"

Smirking in victory, he let a small chuckle loose from his mouth, but it was short lived.

Giving one last groan, his vision faded out as he, too, fell onto the rubble, welcoming the darkness that made him sleep.

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><p>Well neither Ness nor Ninten were victorious… so uhh… I guess it's a tie.<p>

On that subject, this is literally my first time describing an action battle so… if anyone thinks it's lacking in areas, please tell me because well… yeah it's my first time and I need to improve. ;)

Oh yes one more thing; I know Ninten doesn't have any offensive PSI attacks in Earthbound Zero, but in this fic, he has one, which is that psionic explosion thingamajig (did I spell that right?). And here's the problem: I don't have a name for it. XD  
>So you guys got any ideas just pop them in the reviews or send me a PM.<p> 


	4. Chapter 3: So we friends?

Once again, thanks a bunch to the people who reviewed!

As for the name of the attack, it'll be revealed in the future chapters.

Yeah sorry guys for the ridiculously long wait; I had my End of Year Exams, but now they've gone... thank god, so don't worry; I'm never givin' up on this fanfic (although I'm kinda disappointed many Earthbound fanfics have been abandoned…).

**Errors in previous chapters:**

**-**When Ninten was having those flashbacks, I wrote, "…images of a blond-haired girl and a grey-haired boy…" but then I put at the end of the paragraph: "It was the same as before; no sound… no colour..."…that meant he couldn't tell if it was a blond-haired person or grey-haired.

- One with Paula when I wrote, "…she charged a PK Freeze Ω…" but then when she launched it I put: "…she shot the PK Freeze alpha…"

- (In chapter 1) I wouldn't have noticed this if it weren't for xStarxShinex, but it said that Jeff was working on an invention in _Snowman,_but he lives in Winters.

**Disclaimer: **If I owned the Earthbound series, I would be the richest kid in my class.

**Many thanks to:** CuteLittlePikachu, Kyandanko and Michael for their help, xStarxShinex for the note, SuperShadowSonic for the great tips on the battling scene as well as the suggestions for the name and Sky Chain Lilyana also for the suggestion.

**Warning for Future Chapters:** the future chapters most probably will contain cursing and mild swearing.

Without any more blabberin' from this author, enjoy! :D

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><p>It was a wide open field near the sparkling sea, away from the pollution in cities. The golden green grass swayed and wavered to the beat of the wind as he wondered around aimlessly, having absolutely no clue where he was… only that this place felt oddly familiar…<p>

_Unh... wh...what is this...? Where am I...?_

"Hey Ninten!" a young girl called out cheerfully. "Come on! Let's go see the view!"

_Ni...Ninten...? W-Who...? B...But...who are you?_

"Ninten what's wrong?"

_...? C-Can you hear me...?_

"Come on! Loid's waiting for us there!"

_L...Loid? ... Who...Who is Loid...?_

"Ninten come on! Or do I have to drag you?"

_W-Wait! C-Come back! I need to know! I need to know who I am...!_

"Don't worry! It's not like Giegue is going to come back to attack straight after we've defeated him. So drop the serious face will you?"

_Giegue...? No wait, please tell me! Who...Who am I...?_

"**Hey... hey you awake?"**

_Whuh...?_

XXXXX

"Man... he was strong," Ness groaned as touched the shallow cut on his arm. "He wasn't very fast, but he was strong..."

"And he has PSI..." Jeff restated, fixing his glasses.

"Not to mention he had this really powerful attack that we've never seen before," Paula added weakly. "And, remind me again why he's here..."

The pink sofa gave a soft 'thud' as Paula slumped down, tired. It was quite late at night, but everyone there was determined not to fall asleep with an aggressive psychic nearby that was matched with Ness in battle.

After the 'war', upon hearing/seeing the explosion near the department store, Jeff rushed off to find Ness and Paula. Upon finding them however, he found it difficult to distinguish which of the two identical psychics was Ness.

Instead he helped both of them back to the hotel, but he did not want to say so.

"Elementary, Paula," Jeff began. "He's here only for interrogatory purposes."

Everyone looked at him, along with some other people who happened to pass by coincidentally. For a few moments, the only sound audible was the soft tapping of the rain outside.

"What Jeff means," Ness added quickly, "is that we would like to ask him some questions."

The people who had stopped went on with their own business.

"Can I remind you guys that he almost killed us?"

"To be fair, we attacked first because we thought he was a Starman, but Starmen's illusion-like disguises disappear once they've been hit, and as we saw, he stayed the same."

"Still, what if he wakes up and attacks us? I'm not suggesting we should throw him out, but we should at least take some precautions! You know how strong he is! He's tied with you!"

"Let's trust that he won't."

"Ness!"

"I hate to be a bother, but I side with Paula this time, Ness. It's a risk letting him here."

"Guys, trust me! When have I ever been wrong?"

"…Is that a trick question?" Paula and Jeff responded at the same time, remembering their previous journey.

"I believe so," a familiar voice suddenly joined in.

Ness and co. turned around to find Poo standing near the entrance.

"Hey Poo you're-" Paula started, but was immediately interrupted by Ness.

"YOU'RE LATE!"

"I apologise sincerely, but I had duties to attend to."

"What 'duties'?" demanded Ness.

"Ah... I'd...rather not say," Poo shuddered, thinking about the trouble he had to go through in order to escape his 'future wives'.

"I think... that is for the best," Jeff added, reading Poo.

"Well, off that, what are we asking him exactly?"

"Firstly, who he is, secondly, why he's here and thirdly, how he got PSI."

"But you don't even know how you got yours Ness."

"…Okay scrap that then, but my point is: that person is way too suspicious to let loose…yet."

"And that person happens to be waking up presently," Poo finished, Ness, Paula and Jeff looking at the newly awakened psychic.

The psychic gave a slurred groan as his eyes opened slowly. Rubbing his eyes, he re-examined the world before him.

"Unnh…"

"Glad you decided to join us," said a voice that did not sound like any of the four

"What?"

Ness and co. quickly pointed towards the box near the side. "Th-That was the TV not us!"

('Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes' was on the television [A/N: I quite enjoy that show])

However, he paid no mind to the TV. "Y-You!"

"Look, hear us-"

Ness was cut off as the psychic connected his fist with Ness' face. Ness recovered quickly just in time to dodge an incoming kick. Just as he was about to retaliate, the psychic grimaced from the wounds from before.

"Ugh…shit…" he swore, panting as he held the spot where Ness had previously hit with PK Rockin'.

"It would not be wise to try and battle us," Poo growled, muttering a quick Lifeup α at Ness. "You are both outnumbered and in no condition to fight."

"I don't need you to lecture me, _mom."_

"Cut the sarcasm cause we've already gotten off the wrong foot," Ness hissed.

"Good; I don't plan on getting on the right foot with you."

"…So who are you?" Jeff asked immediately, ignoring their previous comments.

"You first."

"If we give you ours, will you give us yours?"

"…Don't think I can."

"And why is that?"

_Because I don't know either… _"…Because I don't trust you."

"Hello! We just helped you!" Ness bellowed.

"So? Doesn't mean I can trust you."

"If we wanted to, we could've just left you there; so be grateful we actually helped you!"

"Why? I didn't ask you to."

"What was that?"

"You heard me, and don't talk to close; I can smell your bad breath."

"You're one to talk!"

"Oh yeah!"

Ness and the other boy stood face-to-face, glaring furiously at each other like they could snap at any moment. Paula, Jeff and Poo all simultaneously sighed.

"I told you it was a bad idea…"

XXXXXX

Stars decorated the world around him as he approached the main room of the spaceship, which was drifting delicately in the middle of space. A 3 foot sword grasped his waist, and a warm cloak found itself suspended off his back. Dark blue hair waving to his careful steps, he bowed down to his superiors who sat in front of him.

"You called, master?" He began, almost a millimeter from touching the ground.

A mechanical cyborg stepped forward and turned to face the swordsman, walking, well rather levitating, to the other side of the room, where the clear glass exhibited the wonders of space and the millions of stars shining with wonder and awe. Tiny but deadly sharp spikes grew out of its shoulders and a bloody 'X' was splattered on its front, except it didn't look like you could wash it off.

"Yes," it spoke in a cold, mechanical voice. "Come here; do you know this boy?"

As it spoke, a projector came up and flashed images of a certain boy with a red cap turned towards the _left._The swordsman nodded in recognition, his black and piercing eyes looking at the projector.

"Ninten, a young boy from the outskirts of Podunk; possesses powerful yet erratic PSI; has two sisters," he recited monotonously, "Defeated Giegue but unknown if alive."

"The last part is incorrect; he is alive, but, he does not remember who he is."

"What! Nonsense! There's no way he could've survived that explosion!"

"Our Lord did; being able to defeat our Lord, he can as well."

"His existence is not confirmed!"

"Check the database; he is classified as alive and-"

"He's not on Earth!"

"LET ME FINISH! Gosh… now, as I was saying, he's alive, but not in this time period."

"...You mean... he's... in another time!"

"Yes... and this proves problematic to our plans of conquering Earth, and that is why I have called you."

"Why not any of the other plain Starmen*?"

"Cause… well… you see frankly they are… they are… uhh y'know… inexperienced…?"

"…."

"OH WHO AM I KIDDIN'? THEY STINK!...no offense…"

"…So you want me to-"

"Go and infiltrate them; make SURE Ninten does NOT remember who he is."

"He'll remember eventually."

"Not if you intervene. Now go!"

"But-"

"NO BUTTS!"

"…you mean 'but'."

"It doesn't matter! JUST GO!"

"*grumble* Fine…"

XXXXX

"Calm down you two," Poo interrupted, stepping forward. "We don't want to start a fuss now, especially in a hotel."

Ness gave one last glare before muttering a 'hmph' and turning the other side, but the other now looked at the new person in play.

"And who are you?" he asked.

"I am Poo," Poo responded, not really minding the unknown psychic knowing his name. "And who might you be?"

"…"

"I've trusted you with my name; I don't see why you can't with me."

"…nh…."

At this, a look of hesitation came on his face and he looked away. He didn't know who he was, so how could he explain that to them? Partially, it was because of distrust, but it was mainly more about doubt that they'd be sympathetic. _Surely they won't believe me… _he thought.

However, focusing hard on thoughts amongst psychics is a very bad idea, and he soon learnt why.

"…You don't know your name?" Paula said out of the blue, slightly surprising everyone and very much surprising the one who was thinking it.

"…! H-How-"

"When you focus too hard on thoughts, other psychics, be it powerful or not, will be able to hear it even if they are unintentionally doing so," Jeff explained, despite not having PSI. "It was the same with me when I was working on my inventions."

"Yeah and we really didn't need to know about how the thing worked," Ness said, remembering how hard it was to go to sleep with all the complex words in his head.

Paula shook her head. "Anyway, you don't know your name…? Do you have amnesia?"

"..M…maybe…" the boy responded tentatively. "I, well… I don't even know how I got here…"

"Then what do you remember?"

"…A... weird portal-like place; that's when I came to. I don't remember anything beforehand."

"So what you're saying is: you woke up traveling through a portal?" Ness asked, incredulous.

The psychic shook his head. "No, I wasn't traveling, but rather I think I was thrown or maybe blown somehow into that state."

"So someone did this to you?"

"Yeah… unless I was some mad idiot before I lost my memory and decided to go spend my holidays in a portal."

"Possible."

"Shut up," the boy retorted, but then immediately looked away. "So…I can't give you my name, even if I wanted to."

At this, Ness felt somewhat guilty. There was no doubt about what he said; Paula had confirmed his thoughts, and she was the one whom even seemed to oppose the thought of letting someone dangerous stay.

Getting up from his seat, he approached him and held out a friendly hand. The boy in turn looked at him, expecting some sort of explanation.

"Alright, well we'll help you in whatever way we can," he beamed, earning 3 'we ARE?' faces from Paula, Jeff and Poo.

Straight after that, the other boy pulled a 'you ARE?' face and his mouth dropped down a thousand miles.

"You're not serious!" they all (i.e. Paula, Jeff, Poo and that boy) yelled in unison, earning a few 'shut up's from downstairs.

"I'm serious alright," Ness responded. "It wasn't fair on you when we attacked you because of a misunderstanding, and besides, it IS a way of keeping an eye on you, right Paula? Jeff?"

"Well, that's true…"

"So no arguments there; now how about you?"

"Serious? You want to help me after I beat the crap outta you guys?"

"Uhh, no you didn't actually beat us cause we both collapsed, but it was actually us who attacked first so… put past behind and start new?" Ness grinned as he held out his hand.

The psychic looked at Ness, then the hand. Should he accept their help? To be honest, he felt overwhelmed by the unfamiliar world, and having friends with you would certainly help…

…friends…

Slowly at first, he moved his hand towards it, unsure whether it was just a mean prank or if it was genuinely friendly. Deep down however, he felt he knew he could trust this person, yet the weak doubt in his mind just stubbornly stayed.

The smile from Ness' face never even wavered once as he saw the reluctance in the decision. Paula, although slightly worried, smiled as well after Ness had stated his reason. Jeff still had the scientist's face on, but if you could see behind that mask you'd see Jeff slightly grinning. Poo wasn't really on either side, neither grinning nor frowning.

After a few moments, the doubt from the boy's mind finally gave up as both of the jet black-haired psychics shook hands. As soon as the handshake was over, Paula asked, "So how are we going to help him?"

"Wait," Jeff began, "you've mentioned before about some sort of portal that you woke up in apparently. Can you describe it?"

The psychic looked from Ness to Jeff. "Well, it was colourful... it sorta felt like I was experiencing déjà-vu all the time and it might've just been me, but I'm sure some sort of PSI was being used."

"Hmm... we might need expert help on that; none of us know a PSI move that incorporates use of a portal except PSI Teleport, but it doesn't fit the description."

"Then how about we ask Dr. Andonuts?"

"...That's not a bad idea," Jeff remarked. "Da- I mean, Dr. Andonuts might know. He recently uncovered some relics that were about PSI."

"Oh yeah," Paula said. "That was in the newspaper too."

"So to Winters?" Poo verified, and the 3 nodded.

"Here come with us," Ness said as he turned towards the psychic. "We're going to ask a good friend of ours to help you with your memory loss."

Not very sure with what to expect or what to do, he gave a slight nod and followed Ness and co. outside, but Ness quickly stopped all of a sudden.

"Oh yeah, and this is really up to you but can you at least decide a name you're gonna go by?" Ness suggested. "It's easier for us to just call you by that name until we find out your real name. And besides, I'm pretty sure the author would be relieved to stop calling you 'the boy', 'the other' and 'the psychic'."

"Yes please! You don't know how tedious those nouns are! And I can't use 'he' cause people get confused who it is!" Negai Liu stresses.

"A name...? Well..." the psychic pondered, thinking of ridiculously boring names. _Bob…? Nah. Paul…? Erm… maybe not. Simon? Ah…nah… Oh man! Bobby? No thanks. Michael? No way!_

He kept pondering on the name, unaware that Ness was still there. It only took a tap on the shoulder to rocket him from his thoughts, but then he'd go earthbound again and ponder.

"Can you guys please hurry?" Jeff shouted from outside. "We're getting wet!"

"Alright well then let's-"

"I think..."

"Yes?" Ness responded almost simultaneously.

While Jeff was calling Ness, a small voice in his head had spoken a word… no, a name; a name that he felt was very familiar but could not pinpoint what it was. He decided he would find out anyway, being with his new friends.

Running towards the four, he replied, "Call me Ninten."

* * *

><p>Yahoo! I can finally stop using those 3 boring nouns! THANK YOU NESS.<p>

*Ahem* I realise this, but this chapter's mainly dialogue and I don't feel as if that's a good thing. My English teacher noted that in all of my stories that I've done, but she never said if it was good or bad (I have a feeling that is bad though). If anyone is an expert, please help! Thanks thanks. :)

*By the way guys, is it Starmen or Starmans? :\

Review please! I don't mind if it's just to say a word or anything.


	5. Chapter 4:Was that a Chimera?

Hello, Negai here, with chapter 5.

Thank you to everyone who voted in the poll. My final decision is that, yes, Lucas will be included in this fanfic. However, please bear with me as Lucas won't come in until later in the story and due to that this story might turn out to be a very long one.

Also, as I may have already said before, there will be no romance in this fic.

**Many thanks to: **CuteLittlePikachu for all her wonderful help.

**Disclaimer: **If I owned the Earthbound series… that'd be great. But I don't.

And enjoy! :D

* * *

><p>"Teleport Ω!" shouted Poo as the world around Ness and co. spun around and around rapidly until the suburban setting smudged into the white snowy lands of Snowman.<p>

However, as soon as they stopped spinning...

Ness, Paula and Ninten all simultaneously vomited while Jeff held his mouth and churning stomach. Poo gave a slight awkward grin.

"Yes, people tend to do that no matter how many times they've taken the ride," he stated, giving each of them a plastic bag. "You, my friends, are not the only ones."

"NOW you tell us..!" Ness gasped through breaths.

"A-Anyway," Ninten began as he, too, tried to obliterate the sick feeling, "who is this 'Dr. Andonuts' anyway? I know he's Jeff's father, but why him?"

"Because we don't know any other scientific genius and he's recently discovered stuff relating to PSI, according to the newspaper, that is," Paula said after a few moments of coughing.

Honestly, Ninten had an anxious feeling in his mind, but he couldn't quite figure out why it was there.

After everyone had stopped coughing, Jeff led them across the snowy ground towards the somewhat big, grey building situated not far from their original position. Along the way they passed by some burnt markings engraved into the ground, and they certainly weren't made by meteorites or aliens. Jeff shook his head, amused.

"Dad's experiments must have had something to do with these," he mused.

"Like a certain someone else who made a _crashing _entrance, in front of us even," Ness recalled, making it obvious who he was referring to. Paula lightly smiled at Jeff, who gave a loud cough and starting looking around.

"Yes I wonder who that 'certain someone' is," he continued, pretending to be looking for someone. "He must have been a very inconsiderate chap."

At this, Ness sent a soft punch to Jeff on the head, laughing. Jeff soon joined in, along with Paula. The three hadn't been reunited together much at all since the ending of their previous adventure.

However, Poo noticed something that the others did not; usually being the more serious one of the group, he did not contribute much to their conversations, unless being addressed to. Due to this, he was usually the one to notice other things that the other three would not have.

Tapping Ness on the shoulder, he pointed behind the group. Ness followed his point to a still Ninten, looking at the snowy trees with a faraway look in his eyes.

"Something had been bothering him quite a lot while everyone was talking," Poo explained, with the serious voice he had all the time. "He's not saying anything, though; when I asked him, he just replied, 'Don't worry about it.'"

Ness looked from Poo to Ninten again, who looked sad and bothered. _That must be contagious cause now I feel a bit sad… _Ness thought to himself.

Leaving Paula and Jeff chatting away and recalling bits of their adventure, he approached Ninten silently, with no negative intent.

…_Why does this feel so familiar…?_

Ness stopped, not even a meter close to him, yet, he could hear what Ninten was thinking about. Remembering Jeff's words, he realised whatever Ninten was thinking about bothered him quite a lot.

_This setting… it feels like I've been here before, but how? And… what about that dream? That girl… who was she? She mentioned something about someone named Loid. Could they… both be… my friends…? Or… are they…?_

_Why…? Why can't I remember!_

Feeling the frustration behind the Ninten's words, Ness decided he would ask Ninten about it later. _I think I should leave him alone for now._

XXXXX

Giving his glasses a small push, Jeff knocked on the metallic door thrice and waited patiently. It wasn't long before a certain light gray-haired and slightly round scientist answered the door.

"Oh Jeff, I didn't expect you back so soon," he began, but the two indistinguishable red-capped boys immediately took his attention.

Dr. Andonuts rubbed his eyes. "…What on Earth?"

"They're two entirely different people… sort of," Paula explained. "They just have similar tastes; at least, that's what we think."

"How peculiar; it's rare to find someone with nearly completely identical tastes."

"Actually, on that topic," Jeff interrupted, "we need your help with a strange case of amnesia."

Dr. Andonuts gave him a slight stare. "Jeff, you know that-"

"I know, _dad_, I know, but in this case the amnesia occurred during a travel through a portal in which he doesn't even remember he got thrown into."

Dr. Andonuts was about to give his son a lecture about how he wasn't the 'medical' type, until the word 'portal' came out. He stood silently for a few moments, staring at the five, until he finally replied, "Then come inside; I think I might know which portal you are talking about."

A leap of hope sprung within Ninten, but it failed to extinguish the anxious feeling he had in his mind. _What's going on…?_ He just couldn't figure out what was nagging him so much. At first, he thought it would go away after awhile, but it stayed, not even lessening in intensity. He had tried to shrug it off after some deep thought, passing it off as 'stranger warning', but deep down he knew it was something else. It was like his mind was telling him some sort of premonition.

As the five entered the building, no one noticed the shadowy figure watching Ninten carefully and intently. He smirked as he retreated into the darkness, muttering, "Enjoy your company while you can, little boy."

XXXXX

The Starman shook off the frost that had developed on its arms during his observation on the five. As it headed back towards its superiors, a familiar voice greeted, "Hello, Starman. I trust that your mission bore fruit?"

It swung its shiny body towards the origin of the sound. There stood the swordsman who was to keep tabs on Ninten:

Nero Tyhavios.

The Starman bowed, or rather tilted, towards the dark blue-haired man. "Yes Lord Nero; I have obtained some information, although it is bad news to us."

"Really? How?"

"The psychic, Ninten… it seems he has teamed up with the Chosen Four."

The icy winds blew and howled, obscuring the swordsman's grin.

"And…?" he replied, playing with his hair like a bored person.

"'And'?" roared the Starman, incredulous to his confidence and smugness. "He has teamed up with the Chosen Four, whom also defeated our Lord, and that was when he had unleashed his great power!"

"I have more than enough capability to defeat them," the swordsman replied rather casually. "Or, we can always have them defeat each other, especially at the early stages of trust."

"Dim-witted fool; you must not underestimate them. And besides-"

"I'm not; I'm just stating what's true. They can't defeat me as long as I have the device in my possession. Their PSI will be completely useless against me."

"…Your mission, Lord Nero, is to infiltrate them; not kill them," the Starman responded.

A strong gust of snow and wind blew and Nero was thankful that it covered his shocked face and his real life sweat-drop.

"R-Right…" he stammered, trying to keep a straight face. "Uh… I meant, as long as I have the device in my possession, the plan to release that monster on them will work! Ahaha… hahah… aha…"

Although it was not visible, the Starman was every bit skeptical.

"Riiiiiiight…"

"A-Anyway, report this to the commander-in-charge immediately," he quickly ordered, trying to avert the subject. "And also, send word to him that he can release the creature now; doesn't matter what creature he sends."

With a flourish of his cape, he walked away into the frosty chaos, the Starman doing the same. Although Nero did not know it, the Starman was currently thinking, "I suspect this won't end well."

XXXXX

Dr. Andonuts' lab was the same as it was throughout the whole of Ness' previous journey, with the exception of some weird-looking rocks and stones on the work table, an extra table, with a delicious-looking coconut cake on top, accompanied with chairs, of which everyone was currently seated at.

"You can explore the rest of the lab later, if you wish, Ninten," Dr. Andonuts said, catching Ninten looking around curiously. "But more importantly, we need to discuss about your link to the portal which you guys were talking about."

"Okay…" Ninten replied, unsure.

"First of all, tell us exactly what you remember." At this, Jeff took out a notepad and a small sharpened pencil, ready to take down notes.

"Well… I remember regaining consciousness inside this strange cave-like place, except it looked more like I was traveling through a portal. All I remember from being inside that is that my PSI wasn't working and I lost consciousness when I exited it. After that, I woke up near the outskirts of Fourside and my PSI started working again. Then I was approached by those crazy people who kept calling me 'Ness' or 'legendary hero'. Not long after that, I ran into you guys and, well, you know the story after that."

By the time he'd finished recounting the story so far, Jeff had already gone through a half of his pencil and notepad, all written so neatly you couldn't tell that he actually rushed through all of them. Ness' eyes widened.

"Now I see why you get good marks…" Ness said looking at the pieces of paper sprawled in front of Jeff. Jeff gave a small and hardly visible grin.

"Interesting... can you explain your portal in more detail?" Dr. Andonuts requested, opening up some sort of video tape.

"Alright. Well, it was… colorful in a way. There were dozens of specs that kept changing colours and spun around inside. They weren't solid because all of them passed through me. At the end of the portal was a white exit. The colours that hit the white immediately disappeared… I guess that's all I remember after the white sucked me in."

Yet another notepad had been wasted and the pencil was no more. Jeff looked at his father, whom had started setting up some sort of a projector.

"I do believe that I think I have some snapshots taken when something strange occurred in the sky a few days ago," Dr. Andonuts explained, fumbling with some bits and pieces, "I took some snapshots when it first appeared in the sky. I tried analyzing it but so far I could only identify an unknown type of energy coming from it. Other fellow scientists have classified it as a portal, but that is still unproven."

Getting up from his seat, Jeff wove his way through the maze of mechanical tools and started helping Dr. Andonuts set up the projector, deciding he had nothing else better to do. Usually, he would work on his own projects, but he had already finished them beforehand.

"This may take some time so you can do something else while you guys wait," Jeff called out.

Meanwhile, Ness had been pondering about the attack Ninten had executed. Having experienced it _thoroughly, _Ness wondered if _he _could try and learn it too. Of course, it may be an attack exclusive to him only similar in a way with his PK Rockin', but… well it wouldn't hurt to ask, would it?

Looking up at Ninten, he asked, "Hey Ninten, I was wondering… what was that attack you used?"

Jerked from deep thinking, Ninten stammered, "Uh-what? Oh… my attack? I… I dunno. I don't really think I have a name for it."

"Well… even if it doesn't have a name… you… think I could learn it?" Ness asked with a childish grin.

Ninten was dumbfounded. He certainly hadn't anticipated such request. "W-Well I… could try and tutor it to you, but why do you want to learn it?"

"Well, cause it was pretty powerful, and it looks cool." No one heard Jeff sigh at Ness' slightly childish comment.

"Yeah, but it's not all power and coolness," Ninten warned. "Although the attack itself is powerful, it also hurts the user by quite a bit!"

"Don't worry! I can handle a bit of pain!" Ness exclaimed, but also mentally added, "Unlike you."

Reading his mind, Ninten was immediately provoked. "What was that?"

"Oh nothing… just telling the truth."

"Says someone who couldn't even take said attack."

"Oh it's okay, don't worry; I know people don't like the truth," Ness feigned pity.

"Like a certain someone who just can't accept that I can easily outmatch him," Ninten retaliated, provoking Ness to stand up.

"As if! So what if you're stronger? You can't even catch up to me!"

"Who needs speed when you have power enough to parry all your blows?"

"So you wanna fight me right here right now to see who's the better fighter?" Ness said, eyes starting to glow a strong blue.

"Sure I can take you on anytime," Ninten replied, eyes also starting to glow blue. "Betcha I can take you on with one hand tied behind my back!"

"Hold on guys," Paula interrupted, getting worried. "If you two battle here, you will mess up Dr. Andonuts' lab!" _And how did asking Ninten to teach a move get to seeing who's better than who? _Paula thought with a sigh.

"Paula's right," Poo reinforced, "Considering the state of the Department Store after you two fought, I'd say it would be in everyone's best interest that you two not go into conflict at any time or any location."

"Fine we'll do it outside then," Ninten growled.

"No, not outside either," Poo almost responded immediately. "If you do it outside, there's a high chance you will destroy Dr. Andonuts lab anyway and whatever may be nearby; as I said, it's best not to get you two into conflict at-"

"OW! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?" yelled Ninten suddenly after Ness had mischievously snuck a joy buzzer up his hand.

"Gee I didn't know you were wimpy enough to care about pain from a joy buzzer," Ness mocked.

"Oh you are going to PAY for that you bastard," Ninten hissed as he threw a punch at Ness, but Ness easily moved aside.

"Hah, you're not going to ever hit me with speed like that," Ness grinned as he effortlessly dodged all of Ninten's attacks. "Even a snail can move faster than you!"

"Grr..! Shut UP!" All of a sudden, the bright blue light came back to Ninten's eyes and energy coated his fists; Ness's eyes widened in shock.

"Whoa whoa hold it Ninten I wasn't serious about that," Ness said, but it seemed Ninten wasn't listening. "And besides, aren't you going a bit overboard? I mean- Whoa!"

Ness had barely dodged a punch and the excess energy sparking near it had paralysed his left leg, cutting Ness's evasion extents. Ninten ran towards Ness alarmingly, right hand completely swathed in raw power.

As he prepared to punish Ness, a firm hand grasped his and a voice shouted, "That's enough!"

Both jet-haired boys turned to face the martial arts master, who was currently a bit... _peeved._

"If both of you fight here, not only will you potentially _destroy _this place but you will also damage _us and yourselves_," he scolded angrily yet still retaining his composure. "If you two can't hold in your petty arguments then trust me: I will _ensure _you do_." _

The struggling within Poo's hand ceased, followed by the eventual decline of the blue aura surrounding Ninten. Although Ninten became quiet after this, Ness still wasn't convinced.

"Hey, Ninten was the one who attacked first! If anybody's to blame, it's him!"

"Ness," Paula hissed. "You were the one who dissed him in the first place."

"Yeah, but he's the one who took it too far by using his PSI! I mean, I was just kidding!"

"Still-"

"No," a soft voice muttered. "He's right; I was the one who attacked first."

Almost everyone turned to look at the now guilty Ninten, who seemed genuinely down, yet everyone was still not convinced someone could change their mind so quickly.

Especially Ninten.

"I shouldn't have attacked Ness in the first place. I mean, I guess he did make me angry but it was just teasing. Yet I started using my PSI which could have potentially injured him pretty bad I guess," he murmured. "…Sorry; I guess not remembering anything about myself got me a bit aggressive."

Understatement of the century...

"…If you don't mind, I'd like to go out for a walk."

"We're almost finished with the projector, though," Jeff noted, invisible. "You sure you want to go out?"

"Yeah, just to get my mind off things. I've been really anxious lately."

Without another word, he left the room and went outside. As soon as the door closed, Paula, Jeff, Poo and even Dr. Andonuts gave Ness the 'stare', and although he knew what they meant, he complained.

"Do I really have to go?"

"Yes," Poo hissed, still a bit pissed. "Not only to atone for the incident, but also to make sure he doesn't get into any trouble either."

There was a hint in his voice that clearly showed distrust towards Ninten, but Ness didn't pay attention to it.

"Still, why-"

"_Just… go…" _Poo said sternly, completely ending any more objections from anyone.

Ness still kept looking at Poo, hoping that he would change his mind, but then again, this was Poo. Giving a loud sigh that felt more like a groan, he muttered something under his breath as he exited the building and followed the fresh footsteps in the snow.

XXXXX

He didn't know why, but somehow the anxiety feeling he had since meeting Dr. Andonuts had developed into a storm raging inside his belly. It was enough to make him feel really worried, and that was something he really needed to stop. Being anxious only makes one grouchy and irritable, and it was because of that that he started using his PSI against a… well, 'innocent' person who was merely teasing.

Pausing for a bit, he looked up from the snow and saw the vast forest that stretched beyond the horizon. It was yet another feeling that felt normal, but somehow… empty, as if something was missing. He shook his head. No, not something…

…someone.

Suddenly, a sharp pain sparked in his mind. Grimacing in pain, he cursed that if he were to have another pain in his head he might go mad.

Like the previous ones from before, every time he had a headache, some sort of image or short moment would flash by right after. He never did know what they were; some made him feel remorseful, while others were so realistic, any sort of pain he experienced in the dream-like moments would make him shout out in the real world.

This time, it lasted much longer.

From his point of view, he could see some sort of gigantic bright sphere in front of him. The room was filled with wires and complex controls.

"_**PK Crash!"**_

…_! That… that's… my voice…!_

The familiar attack bombarded into the sphere, causing it to react violently to the PSI. The resulting explosion devastated the whole room, but while he did not get hit, he collapsed.

…_! Unh… stop. It hurts…!_

The images rushed to him in a swarm, and in no particular order. It overwhelmed his fragile mind and forced him to his knees.

A much loved dog...

_Stop...!_

Two young look-alike girls...

_Stop it...!_

Two other kids, one with gray hair and one with blonde hair...

_Get out of my head!_

A heart-wrentching sensation sparked within his body as he watched the two leave, filling the boy with what could only be described as eternal grief.

A loud yell pierced the eerily snowy silence.

XXXXX

The yell caught the attention of the other jet-haired boy, who turned to the sound. _Crap, hope the idiot's still alright…_

Running towards the where he thought he heard the yell come from, he gasped as he saw Ninten collapsed on the floor, a beleaguered look on his face.

"H-Hey Ninten," he shouted as he shook him, worried not much for the boy himself, but rather what Poo would do to him if he came back with an unconscious Ninten. "You alright? Come on don't-"

_*rumble* *rumble*_

"…What the?"

The irregular shakings of the earth caught Ness' attention and of course, they weren't from massive oversized stomach grumbles. As he turned around, a grotesque and rather unhygienic face smiled back.

It was some sort of a chimera, blue in colouration and looking like a dog with wings. A small animal of some sort was perched on its back, along with a label that read 'PROTOTYPE ULTIMATE'.

It roared at the two boys, flashing its menacing wide range of sharp teeth. No one would be foolish enough to assume it was a genuine smile.

_Holy crap what the heck is that?_

"Okay, this is not good; Ninten, you better wake up _now," _Ness said, feeling a small bit of dread each time the chimera came closer. "I'm not joking, Ninten..! Wake up NOW!"  
>But Ninten did not stir even the slightest, prompting Ness to resort to using a psychic assault. Ness detested using this method, as it made him feel as though he were torturing the person, but given the situation and the impending doom, now would be a very good time to do so.<p>

Focusing his PSI faster than he ever did, he directed it towards Ninten's mind and 'psy-shocked' him. A roar from PROTOTYPE ULTIMATE caused Ness to turn towards it, right into its face. _Shoot!  
><em>As the chimera opened its mouth, Ness felt a strong jerk from behind as a punch literally just missed him by a hair and slammed itself onto the creature's lower jaw, knocking it back. Looking backwards, he saw that it was Ninten's immediate reaction from his 'psy-shock' that had saved him.

"…What the?" was all Ninten could say when he saw the blue creature, but Ness quickly grabbed him and backed off just as the chimera attempted to ram into them.

"My point exactly," Ness said, taking out his bat. "But save it for now cause it's coming right at us!"

The chimera let loose a quaking roar and once again tried tackling the two boys down, but due to its slow speed Ness had absolutely no difficulty dodging. It was Ninten, however, who did. Instead of trying to dodge, he stayed where he was and held his hands around him, a bright blue shield conjuring around him. It completely nullified the force behind the attack and reflected it back with doubled power.

The duo didn't want to give up any openings, and proceeded to retaliate. Ness leapt into the air and brought his bat down with a loud 'SMAAASH!' while Ninten doubled Ness' power with Offense Up. The chimera howled in pain, but then deftly attacked back at Ness with its sharp tail, slamming him into a tree. It then tried to perform the same manoeuvre on Ninten, but he dodged and psi-punched it back, muttering a quick Lifeup α at Ness whilst doing so. The attack seemed more effective than Ness', despite not having been a critical hit.

Ness noticed this and instead of again charging in and attacking the old-fashioned way, he stood up and focused his signature PK Rockin' attack. Shimmering waves of PSI swirled around him before gathering towards a spot in front of Ness.

"PK Rockin' Ω!" yelled Ness as he shot the PK Rockin' at the dazed creature, surrounding it in blinding flashes of energy. The PSI homed onto PROTOTYPE ULTIMATE, peppering it with dozens of chaotic streaks. A loud thundering noise echoed and made the attack look more like a violent version of PK Flash.

As the ended, the chimera now looked as battered as a worn-down rusted car. Many parts of it had been destroyed, revealing the mechanical parts within.

Even in the state it was now, it still was ready to fight. Utilizing its jaws this time, it dashed towards them at surprising speed. Once again, while Ness was able to dodge, Ninten couldn't. He barely managed to conjure up another shield as the jaws closed down. However, the shield struggled with the weight and started to crack, scarcely nullifying the damage. Ninten struggled to even uphold the shield, and was saved just in time by Ness as the shield gave way and the jaws slammed shut.

"Thanks…" he breathed, shaken by the experience. "I thought I wasn't going to live through that."

Ness nodded back in return, and Ninten felt a bit more reassured.

As the chimera repeated its action, Ness and Ninten went in for a combination attack. They both ran to meet the chimera, Ness in front and Ninten at back.

As PROTOTYPE ULTIMATE came closer, Ninten threw Ness into the air and Ness followed with blasting Ninten with his own PSI and Ninten doing the same. The PSI latched onto both Ness' body and Ninten's body, propelling them both towards the blue creature like missiles in a criss-cross fashion.

When the two attacks connected, the rubbing of the two energies caused an explosion to erupt at the point. It was both a dazzling and deadly sight. The explosion completely annihilated PROTOTYPE ULTIMATE, leaving almost no trace of it ever being there.

Ness and Ninten were somewhat drained after the attack. Not only was conducting PSI an exhausting chore to do, but also the amount of energy needed for such a strong attack. Nevertheless though, they were more than capable of taking damage.

"So… care to tell me what that was?" Ninten asked, still a bit confused. After all, who wouldn't be if they had suddenly woke up facing a gigantic monster?

"I don't know…" Ness replied, healing himself. "It attacked me when I found you, so I assumed you knew what it was…"

Ninten didn't answer.

"…We should be going back; Jeff's probably already finished by now."

"Yeah, and, I think I might need to ask Dr. Andonuts about that… thing," Ness added, starting to walk back. "But you alright?"

"Yeah, not too roughed up," Ninten replied. "And… thanks…"

Ness looked at him, a bit confused. "For what?"

"For… making sure I wasn't that monster's lunch while I was out."

At this, Ness smiled his signature smile. "That's what friends are for right? Helping each other out."

This took Ninten by a slight surprise, but then again, he had secretly hoped that he would say that. Grinning in return, he followed Ness back towards Dr. Andonuts' lab, anxiety feeling completely obliterated.

* * *

><p>So I hope I didn't bore you guys too much with this chapter. I didn't actually want to write such a long one but I felt that I couldn't just end it in the middle.<p>

Credit goes to SuperShadowSonic for name of the attack.

See you next time, people. :D


	6. Chapter 5: Starman Raid

Hello again guys! Negai here with chapter 6. Well… it would count as chapter 5 but oh well.

**Disclaimer: **Yeah, because it's completely normal for a 14 year-old kid like me to own a series like Nintendo or Earthbound.

**Many Thanks to: **Moon over Rainbow for reviewing and pointing out my stupid mistake & CuteLittlePikachu for helping me with the editing.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>"That isn't the first time it's appeared," Dr. Andonuts said, a grim look on his face. "Just yesterday, I saw PROTOTYPE ULTIMATE coming from the direction of the Stonehedge. It terrorised all the local creatures and even tried to eat me. But that's not all that's been happening that's strange; my readings have indicated that the Stonehedge is emitting some sort of strange temporal energy. I haven't had any time to investigate it yet, but it's intri-"<p>

"Um... dad...?" Jeff murmured, interrupting Dr. Andonuts. "The pictures of the portal...?"

"Oh yes, I almost forgot! I'll put them on screen right now..."

It had been just after the chimera attack. Ness and Ninten had just come back to the lab at an impeccable time, as Dr. Andonuts had put it. Paula and Jeff had been concerned for their safety, although they knew that it would take something very strong to be able to take one of them down, let alone two of them combined, provided they weren't fighting each other.

"Here we go!"

Suddenly, the images flickered onto the projector and refined themselves, revealing what a regular day at Winters would have looked like. At first, nothing seemed to be out of place. There was the snowy forest, the white-blue sky and maybe even a little birds or rabbits.

However, there was a considerable white hole in the sky, and it stood out more than the clouds because it was outlined by a sort of eerie black. Of course, it couldn't be a solar or lunar eclipse because the sky was not dark.

"That… doesn't seem familiar to me at all…" sighed Ninten, immediately down. "I wouldn't have known anyway, since I was out when the light hit me."

"Now just wait a minute, Ninten," Dr. Andonuts reassured, his grin hardly visible under all that facial hair. "There are more pictures to come. I didn't take all that time to set up the projector if I only had one image."

The next image came shortly afterwards, and it depicted the same thing.

"It's just the lag. Forgive the old projector if you will."

Suddenly, a very large and very clear photo of a woman appeared on screen, prompting everyone save Dr. Andonuts to gawk at it, shocked. Dr. Andonuts quickly switched to the next picture, face turning beetroot red. The five looked at him, all with questioning faces. "Forget you ever saw that," was what he simply said.

No one saw the five sweatdrop.

As the photo vanished, the next picture quickly flashed on-screen. Although it was not relevant to the type of picture they were looking for, it caused quite a stir within everyone in the group.

It was a familiar place. In fact, they were still inside it; Dr. Andonuts' lab. But what worried them was the unusual black figure inside it, and the shocked face that Dr. Andonuts carried in it, as if he had been thoroughly terrified. The whole room looked as if someone had ransacked through the whole place.

Jeff was the most concerned.

"… What is this? No, when was this?" he murmured, voice devoid of concern despite being concerned already.

"Oh just someone asking for directions," Dr. Andonuts replied rather casually. "He tried searching through my belongings for a map but couldn't find one. I happened to just arrive back when he was about to give up and I gave him the one I had on me."

The Chosen Four eyed him with sceptical looks. Someone suddenly comes ransacking your house for a _map, _out of all the things they could have gotten or stolen in the passing time. Evidently, that would not be the case. "Hahaha very funny dad," Jeff responded in a monotonous tone. "Now tell us the real story."

"That is the real story."

"But it doesn't make much sense for a person to search through an entire lab for a map," Paula noted, as amused as Jeff was.

"Well… now you know it actually happens." Dr. Andonuts said dismissively.

"Dad, I'm serious, tell us the real story."

"I told you, dear son, that that IS the real story."

"Doc, please we might be able to draw something from this," Ness urged.

"Okay okay…" Dr. Andonuts had finally given in. "It was your friend from boarding school Tony. I found him outside and he said he was looking for you."

"….Is that so?" There was something about Jeff's voice as if he, too, was hiding something.

"Yes, now-"

All of a sudden, a loud '_bang!' _echoed throughout the room as the projector's power supply exploded and the pictures fizzled out. Jeff examined the power cord and immediately knew what had gone wrong.

"Dad, you spilt your coffee over the power cord."

"I did? Oh silly me," Dr. Andonuts mused, with a suspicious hint of relief noted by Jeff's keen senses. "I will fix it up right away."

The last part had been spoken in quite a rush…

XXXXX

"Are you sure this will work? I'm not certain they'll buy the story," Nero said.

"Of course you fool," Ultimate Starman replied, sending him a glare… ish. It was hard to tell a glare when looking into the visor of a Starman.

"And when that happens, I will infiltrate them and make sure that Ninten will not remember who he is."

"Are you fully prepared? Knowing that it is the Chosen Four that you are up against, are you absolutely prepared for each question of suspicion that they may throw against you?"

Nero did not bother answering that. As one of the commanders in the order, he felt his ability and intelligence should not be questioned. Instead, he looked at the scientist wandering around on the top floor of his lab.

"Well, looks like it won't be long."

XXXXX

"What are you saying, Jeff?" Ness said, not really taking in what his companion was trying to dictate. "Are you saying that you think that Dr. Andonuts is not himself?"

"He is not the only one who suspects such," Poo stated. "Dr. Andonuts has been acting a bit out of character since we came. I do not believe that the present Dr. Andonuts is… in truth, the real Dr. Andonuts."

"Come on, if it's not the prof then who else could it be? And how did you two come to that?"

"He never visited me when I was in boarding school," Jeff reasoned, gaining support from Paula.

Ness was still confused. "Yeah and…?"

"If he had never visited me in boarding school, Ness, then how can he have known Tony?"

Ness opened his mouth to speak, but immediately shut it afterwards realising his friend had a point. "When you put it that way… I… can't argue with that."

Silence befell the room.

"Well if the Dr. Andonuts really is a fake, what are you guys waiting for?" questioned Ninten, who had kept silent throughout the discussion.

Everyone turned towards him.

"I may not know how Dr. Andonuts usually is nor how he does his things, but if he's a fake then what the heck are we standing around for?"

"As I said, I only suspect it," Jeff hesitated. "I don't have solid proof about that although my intuition is currently driving me nuts."

"Well then let's put that theory to the test," Ness grinned. "Come on guys, you know he has a point. No use letting some thief or whatever pretend to be Dr. Andonuts and us sitting here playing along with it. Let's take him out!"

"But Ness-"

"For once, however, I must side with Ness, Jeff," Poo sighed. "If we make a mistake, then at least we can confirm that Dr. Andonuts is real. If we don't do it, the worst possibility is that we somehow get completely defeated by whatever it is that is opposing us. I'd rather our chances dealing with the spy than to risk that."

"…Even if I say no now, chances are you guys are going to state that it's a 3-vs-1 argument."

Jeff sighed, finally giving in. Some part of him agreed with their reasons, but there was also the part of him that did not want to harm his… father.

If it were truly him, at least.

"Alright, we'll do it," Jeff murmured, but then immediately stated, "but if he isn't the real one, chances are he's prepared for the time when we find out his identity. Thus, we must also be thoroughly prepared. We'll play along with his act until dusk, where we'll strike him when he… it… uh, least expects it. Any objections?"

Silence objected.

"Good, now-"

"Oh, but it will be dusk for you now!"

Everyone flinched as a fiery wave of PK Fire rammed into Jeff and sent him into a wall. Dr. Andonuts stood in the hallway, hand spread out, now shimmering with PSI.

In fact, it wasn't just his hand that was shimmering. His whole body seemed to be flickering and swirling in and out, until it finally fixed itself, revealing a metallic blue body and a black visor.

It was, indefinitely, a Starman.

"Jeff!" Ness shouted, running over to his dazed friend. "You alright?"

"Yes," Jeff hissed, trying to hide his anger. "Apart from the _very, inconsiderate… __**bastard **_who just scorched my… new… school uniform…!"

Shoving Ness off violently and completely ditching his composure, he skilfully switched out his Gaia Beam II and fired a massive blast that threw the Starman through the wall of the lab and into a tree, snapping it in half. Ness's eyes widened in surprise, never recalling Jeff to be this aggressive or the Gaia Beam to be this powerful.

"Did you upgrade the Gaia Beam?" Ness asked, looking at the modified weapon.

"Indeed," Jeff replied after a few moments of regaining his composure. "I was working with Apple Kid on an invention at Saturn Valley when Starman attacked us. We struggled a bit against their PSI but we managed to fend them off. Being cautious, I felt that I should prepare myself in case they attack again. So I upgraded the Gaia Beam."

"There was another attack besides the one in Fourside?"

"I will explain in detail later, but for now, I wish to exact revenge for burning my new jacket."

As the Blue Starman recovered quickly, Paula cast a PSI Shield over everyone and Poo unsheathed his Sword of Kings. Both Ness and Ninten readied their respective bats, but not before one of them could resist a remark.

"Hey! No fair! You have a signature of a famous baseball player on your bat!" Ness exclaimed, pointing a finger at Ninten's bat. Ninten followed Ness's finger to his bat.

"Really? I-I didn't know," Ninten responded, unaware of the battle that was going on in front of them both. _Maybe… I liked baseball when I was still me…?_

"Yeah! Can I trade this bat for yours?"

"Um… well-"

"I mean, it's really rare for someone to have one of these!"

"W-Well… you see… I… kinda feel this is important to me somehow… so-"

"Aw come on! I'll trade anything!"

"Ness, I don't remember things that I liked or enjoyed. All I remember is that I have the ability to use PSI and… that's about it, so if I somehow recover my memory and find that I've traded to you something that I've treasured all my life then…"

"But you don't know whether if it's something you really like or not. Come on, please…?"

"Uhhh well-"

"NINTEN! NESS! WE COULD USE SOME HELP HERE!"

"Oh r-right, sorry."

Ness and Ninten turned themselves towards the Blue Starman, who was having an easy time battling Paula, Jeff and Poo. Ness rushed past everyone and slammed his bat straight onto the Blue Starman while Ninten held out his hand towards the four and shouted, "Lifeup π!"

Immediately, a warm light enveloped everyone and restored their much-needed strength. Although it hadn't restored them completely, it was enough for now.

The Blue Starman, realising that it would get nowhere if they would continue to heal, stopped trying to block Ness's attacks and focus its PSI into a small, compressed sphere. Aiming it towards Ninten, its robotic voice echoed, "PK BEAM γ."

As the bright yellow beam flew towards Ninten at high speed, he realised that he would not be able to dodge such a fast attack.

Focusing on enduring, Ninten braced himself as the beam hit him directly on the body and imploded, pushing him backwards a bit. _Odd… it didn't hurt…_

Suddenly, he felt his energy diminish instantly, as if the attack had shut down everything in his body. It forced him to his knees and blurred his vision, but Poo stepped in and healed him back.

"Hey, you alright?" Ness yelled, in the midst of smashing the Starman's head.

"I'll be better when that stupid robot is smashed," Ninten replied, quickly Lifeup β on himself.

"Gotcha!"

As the Blue Starman threw Ness off, he used that very force to orient himself towards it and fired a quick PK Rockin' α. The attack dissipated against a semi-transparent shield, showing no signs of struggle.

"…Great, it has a shield on," Ness groaned. "Jeff, can you-"

"I am always one step ahead of you, Ness," Jeff smiled, feeling satisfaction as the shield suddenly shattered and the Shield Killer died down.

"Well, with no shield on, the Starman's as good as toast!" Paula yelled as she sent PK Fire Ω hurling towards the Starman, hoping that it would silence it for good. "I can't believe what an incredibly lame pun I just used."

As the fiery wave of flames struck the Blue Starman hard, Ness and Poo both followed up with their own attacks, hacking and bashing at it. With the final hit of their weapons, Ness felt nothing else impact from his bat when he tried to hit again. As the smoke from the fire cleared, it was clear that the Blue Starman was destroyed.

"That was easy," Ness said, putting away his bat, but also realised something. "Hey, have we ever seen a Blue Starman before?"

"…Now that you mention it," Jeff pondered, again thinking deeply, "no, we have not. We have seen many types of Starmen, but never this type."

He looked around, scanning the entire lab.

"Well, looks like dad won't be happy about this," Jeff mused, looking at the scrapped inventions and broken IRM*. "Speaking of which, where is Dr. Andonuts then? If that Starman was the fake, then…"

"Kidnapped again," Paula sighed, brushing off some dust.

"Before we all start to ponder where Dr. Andonuts may have been taken," Poo interrupted gently, sitting down. "May I suggest that we run over the events that have happened so far? We need a clear goal, or at least an analysis of the recent happenings."

"Yes, it is a good idea," Jeff concurred, and immediately sat down as well.

"Hey, anyone else here realising what this means?" Ness said. "Dr. Andonuts has just been kidnapped and all we're doing is sitting down have tea and discussing about the latest news?"

"Ness, it's a good idea to run over what happened to see if there are any links or ideas where he might have been taken," Paula explained, sitting.

"But-"

"And besides, you're more worried about Dr. Andonuts than Jeff is. After we've finished discussing, we're going to rescue him so it's going to be okay."

". . .Alright. . ."

"So, first of all, how did we get here?"

Ness closed his eyes and traced back to the battle in the department store. "We met Ninten…?"

"As the relevant event, yes," Jeff reinforced. "We were to meet at Fourside Hotel, to discuss the strange disturbance you insisted was important because Paula and Poo felt it as well. Then, since Poo and I were taking a long time arriving, although I concur that three hours is an absurdly long time, you got impatient and went to find yourself a meal. It was there you met Ninten, an amnesiac psychic which I assume you two mistook for a Starman, which lead to conflict and the death of the department store. After destroying the entire department store unknowingly in your battle, I found you three unconscious atop the ruins of it, so I naturally brought you guys into the hotel. We cleared things up with Ninten here, and we, well Ness mainly, decided that we would help Ninten." He murmured to himself quietly, "Which I am still having trouble figuring out why."

He cast a quick glance at Ness, who did not notice.

"And that, my friends," Jeff summed up, "leads us to the present, where we have been to dad's home to see if he could help. However, the Dr. Andonuts here was a fake, which leads me to think that the person who erased your memory, Ninten, knows you are here, knows that you've enlisted our help and knows why you are here."

"…Essentially, we have no idea where or who the enemy is, but the enemy knows it's us?" Paula said, somewhat anxious. "That's not good…"

"No, we know that whoever it is that is attacking us has enlisted the help of the Starmen, or the Starmen are willingly obeying whoever it is that wants you dead," Jeff corrected, giving his glasses a little push and suddenly realising something. "Which means… there is a possibility that… perhaps… G…Gi…"

Jeff had never finished his sentence.

"No…" came Ness's murmur, so quiet that Ninten knew that whatever Jeff had been referencing, it was something very awful.

"Yes. There is a possibility that, perhaps, Giygas… uh, that is to say… returned…"

Almost everyone in the room went silent, memories of the battle in the Cave of the Past surging from the back of their minds.

"Umm… Giygas?" Ninten questioned, looking at the slightly pale-faced Chosen Four. "I'm sorry, but could someone explain?"

"Ahh… yes, sorry," Poo said, snapping out of the memory lane. "You see…"

XXXXX

"I told you that copy wouldn't fool the geek and the asian guy," a feminine voice growled, enjoying every moment of lecturing the commander, "but what did you do? You _ignored _my _valuable _opinion. That's a no-no for newbie commanders."

"I am _not _a newbie commander," roared Nero, furious with the masked warrior in front of him. "Firstly, I have been a commander since last year, secondly, I didn't expect the Blue Starman to _actually_ trick them and thirdly, you're a hired troop so you have absolutely no right to lecture me!"

"I'm not just any troop, moron, I happen to be the leader's right-hand solider, which makes you my inferior!"

"Still, I am the commander of the army and therefore, I have more experience!"

"However-"

"No, not another word!" Nero cut her off, starting to calm down. "I won't talk about this anymore, P. You may have higher rights than I do, but who does all the work trying to please the boss? _Me. _All you do is advise him on what to do and tell him about Ninten. Personally, I envy your research skills because no one else was able to find this much info on Ninten, but other than your precious little status and your knowledge-racking skills…"

He approached her and looked at her eye-to-eye. "To me, _you are but a girl who just sits around doing nothing!_"

With that, he turned and exited P's room, heading towards his own. Unaware of what lay behind the familiar turquoise doors, he mouthed his password and immediately walked in.

_Clank!_

A metallic sound echoed as a large kitchen pan collided with his head and sent pain throughout his head for but a split second as his body teetered to and fro before finally, dropping to the floor. Two black figures came out from their hiding places, one holding a frying pan while the other had thin glasses.

"Whoops," the first one giggled, voice young and feminine. "I didn't expect him to be knocked out so easily."

"If it hadn't," the other sighed, voice also young but boyish, "things would have been much more difficult. Where did you get that frying pan from anyway?"

"Umm… the kitchen?"

"They have a _kitchen _in a base like _this?_"

"I thought that too when I saw their kitchen," she replied. "It's actually pretty clean and white, like a chef's kitchen."

The figure with the glasses smiled awkwardly at his companion, wondering if she paid more attention for the kitchen than the actual objective.  
>"Don't forget, though," he said, getting back onto the job at hand, "that we have to get her the info she needs. Otherwise, we won't be able to save him."<p>

"Yeah yeah I know," she replied with a sloppy wave. "We have to find out what they're going to do next, right? You don't have to repeat it twice."

"I've actually repeated it thrice, but yes, I understand your point." He looked around at the ceiling and the floor. "So, this is Nero's room. We have to find the info we need before he wakes up."

"If he does wake up, I'll just brainshock him."

Her partner did not respond to her comment and instead focused on the computer system in front of the wooden desk situated in the left-hand corner of the room, fiddling with it furiously and carefully. His partner instead just inspected the entire room, not really interested in trying to help her partner with the technology. He was, after all, very experienced in the realm of science and technology. Trying to help him would just bug him and she would just be a burden; so instead, she strolled around the room as if she owned the place.

She found, to her disappointment, that there were very few interesting things in the room. Other than Nero lying on the floor with birds flying above his head, everything in the area was just common everyday items that you'd find in a typical office. It almost made her want to lecture him on making his desk interesting. Given the situation and circumstances however, lecturing would have to wait, or perhaps never occur.

"Hey," she said, breaking the constant typing of the keyboard, "are you done yet?"

"Nearly," he replied, moving deftly to and fro. "I just need to deal the security and just-"

"Okay, no massively large details please. Otherwise, I'm going to end up like that guy."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she heard Nero start to stir and wake. A Brainshock attack quickly sent him back into his dreams though.

"It's so booring here," she groaned as she sat on the desk. "Hey you done ye-"

She never finished the sentence as the segment which she sat on suddenly sunk with a 'click'. Immediately afterwards, a rectangular section of the wall beside the duo withdrew, revealing a hidden passage. It, of course, immediately caught both their attention and their curiosity.

"Gosh I'm lucky," the girl thought as she and her partner (whom had just finished with the data on the computer) ventured into the lightless entrance, ignoring the out-cold commander lying on the floor.

XXXXX

Ninten was stunned at the amazing feats that the Chosen Four had accomplished. It wasn't common for anyone to know kids who had saved the world from an alien attack. The only part which stood out most was the battle with Giygas.

"Crap," Ninten murmured, feeling a bit worried. "If this Giygas guy really does return, then that means serious trouble."

"You have no idea," Ness stressed, looking a bit down himself. "We've been through a battle with him and we have absolutely no intention of reliving those events."

"But… I thought you guys destroyed him for good. How can he come back? And besides, I don't know anything about this Giygas guy and even if I did I think I would at least find the name familiar. Why would he want to get rid of me?"

Ness turned to Jeff at this, realising that Ninten had a point.

"That is yet another question that will be raised if Giygas really has returned," Jeff explained. "As I said, there is only a possibility that Giygas has returned. I may be wrong, I may be right."  
>"However, as a precaution," Poo continued, "we must be on alert for any other sign of strange activities."<p>

"Yeah," Paula agreed. "Now that we know that the enemy knows where we are, no doubt they're going to attack us here again. So we need to move and quickly!"

"Yeah, before any more Starmen come and attack us," Ness reinforced before stopping himself as a loud voice boomed from outside and screaming from the nearby people suddenly filled the air.

"HEAR US, CHOSEN FOUR," a booming metallic voice rang out. "WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED. SURRENDER NOW OR PREPARE TO FIGHT!"

"…You just _had_ to say that didn't you?"

Jeff, despite the current situation, chuckled at the way irony loved to surprise the world. Ness peaked outside from a window, and cringed at what he saw: an army of countless Blue Starman, ready and raring to fight.

"Guys, we have a problem," Ness plainly stated, prompting everyone to look outside as well.

"You don't say…" Jeff groaned.

XXXXX

He stared down at the familiar face that looked out upon his army, reliving the memories he had of this boy. _The memory stuff will have to wait for now though, _he thought. _I must finish my task first; only then will I go upon my own personal wishes._

He watched on as the five circled around inside the lab, presumably thinking of an easier way than to meet the army head-on. He grinned as he, with a flourish of his cape, started concentrating on their spot.

"Well, that's my cue," he murmured as he disappeared in a flash.

* * *

><p>This chapter is bit shorter than the last one, but I really wanted to put this out considering my insanely long break. Hopefully, I will have more time since it will be holidays very soon! :)<br>See you again next time, people! :D


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